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President Obama Versus the NFL?

UPDATE: Perhaps anticipating that Americans take their football even more seriously than their debt crisis, the White House is working out a plan to make sure President Obama’s prime-time address next week doesn’t cause interference with the Packers-Saints game airing the same night on NBC. Obama’s speech will apparently begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8, one hour before kick-off of the opening game of the NFL season.

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Now here’s a prime-time conundrum. President Barack Obama’s plans to address a joint session of Congress about jobs, the economy and the deficit have become a scheduling nightmare, finding the Commander in Chief going head-to-head against the NFL.

Obama’s original plan was to speak on the evening of Sept. 7, but after a showdown of sorts with House Speaker John Boehner, Obama has moved the address by a day. Boehner told the White House that the proposed date conflicted with a planned debate of Republican presidential candidates in California. The fact that Obama wanted to speak in prime-time during a GOP debate was taken as a slight by the Republicans.

Therefore, Obama has moved the speech to Thursday, Sept. 8 – but that creates another conflict.

Obama’s address, which will be televised in prime-time, will now face-off against … football. That night is the opening game of the NFL season with a stellar match-up featuring Super Bowl champions the Green Bay Packers against the New Orleans Saints, which is airing on NBC.